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A light-hearted story about childhood and old age that reminds us about the importance of enjoying the little happy moments that shine through what can sometimes be a darker existence. Gubbare 4/14/2019 | 4:00 pm This short film will be screened prior to CHUSKIT ATTEND SYNOPSIS Here is a light-hearted story about childhood and old age that reminds us about the importance of enjoying the little happy moments that shine through what can sometimes be a darker existence. In this story a child focuses not on the shadows but on whatever light illuminates them. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT Gubbare is very heart touching story for common man. I am associated with this film to raise social issue at a large scale. DIRECTOR’S BIO M Gani has more than 20 years of varied experience in theater and film making. He gained wide attention when he produced his film Qaid with a practically non-existent budget under Jan cinema.

Explore the jury and audience award winners from the 2024 Indie Meme Film Festival. IMFF 2024 Awards The 9th Indie Meme Film Festival comes to Austin in-person from April 17 - 21, 2024 and is held at the Austin Film Society Cinema. Indie Meme Film Festival awards are announced during the Closing Night Party. Most films which were selected for In-Theater exhibition or for Virtual Festival are eligible for both Jury Awards and Audience Choice Awards in their own respective categories. Jury Awards Best Narrative Feature Jurors: Neeraja Rao, Tania Romero, Kamal Khan, Christian Raymond Sthal dir. Jayant Somalkar The film is a powerful social commentary on patriarchy, gender bias, social inequality, and Colorism. What stood out for the jury was the beautiful use of all the navraas or 9 emotions —laughter (hasya), love (shringar), fear (bhayanaka), anger (raudra), courage (vira), sadness (karuna), amazement (adbhuta), disgust (vibhatsya) and calmness (shanti). There was a certain musicality and pace in the entire film, with a strong use of sound to support the compelling story. There were also Natural Performances by non-actors, with realistic treatment and a fine eye for smaller details blending in without being didactic. Even when you know what the next plot point is and you wait for a rebellion, you’re taken aback by the suddenness of the climax. All in all, we loved the film's message: BE EDUCATED BE ORGANISED & BE AGITATED. The jury’s favorite is a Film that’s a slap in the face of society: Jayant Digambar Somalkar’s STHAL! Narrative Feature: Special Mention Jurors: Neeraja Rao, Tania Romero, Kamal Khan, Christian Raymond Mithya dir. Sumanth Bhat The film is a riveting exploration of grief with nuanced performances from young actors, fascinating character study, unpredictable expectation defying plot turns, and a heart-wrenching, "edge of your seat" finale. A Special Jury Mention is awarded for the poignant coming-of-age story about loss and displacement. This movie had heart-wrenching, real raw performances that tugged your heart. We were fascinated by the character arcs and the treatment. The film has weaves many parallel storylines that gradually reveal themselves, but it is left up to the audience to explore, as the Director keeps the focus firmly on the protagonist's private world. We loved how the director slowly starts building up the mood to something sinister, leading to the edge-of-the-seat finale. The jury is still trying to figure out how the director and the young actors could pull off an end scene that's heartbreaking and powerful! Best Documentary Jurors: Syed Akbar Hyder, Mike Blizzard Against the Tide dir. Sarvnik Kaur AGAINST THE TIDE is a beautifully shot documentary, acutely sensitive to colors as they spring from the spectacular landscape. The colors themselves tell such a poignant story. The film itself plays like a narrative, with incredibly intimate access to the family, as the members struggle with the pressures of overfishing, climate change, pollution, health care, and balancing traditions with the pressures of the modern world. The film's characters will linger in your mind for a long time afterwards, and you may find yourself wanting a follow-up, to show where they are today. Truly a groundbreaking, must-see documentary film. Best Debut Jurors: Jake Martinez, Sweta Rajesh In Flames dir. Zarrar Kahn IN FLAMES is a film that contextually has never been made before. Perhaps due to societal implications, perhaps because our world was simply not ready for it. This film is a deep exploration of the gender, cultural, and spiritual dynamics of the Arab world. However, the overall message is universal. Strong depictions of trauma, grief, and the subsequently afflicted personal hells through virulent yet beautiful camera work and audio engineering placed us vividly close to the characters and the circumstances they inhabited. We were kept engaged, moved, scared, and many times at the edge of our seats, all the while being provoked into many avenues of thought and mind as to what the characters experienced, and what we ourselves have experienced. IN FLAMES will evoke this even further in new audiences around the world, and we are excited to witness it happen. Best Short Jurors: Vanessa Uhlig, Alex Salahi, Lila Mali, Gabriel Ornelas Last Days of Summer dir. Stenzin Tankong LAST DAYS OF SUMMER is a testament to the power of using tight and efficient storytelling to craft a story of momentous scale. Fresh dialogue, nuanced performances, and breathtaking cinematography unexpectedly give way to haunting final moments. There is a quiet control over the central dramatic question, as we learn along with the brothers at the heart of the film the truth behind the mysterious sounds they hear. All of this plays out with careful, rich sound design that meets the majesty of the Himalayan landscape. Weaving talk of folklore and ghosts with modern environmental crises, the film’s message of a rural village losing its way of life, and our dependence on one another, slices like a shard of cleaving ice. Audience Choice Awards Best Narrative Feature Footprints on Water dir. Nathalia Syam Best Documentary Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam dir. Anand Patwardhan Best Short Places I've Called My Own dir. Sushma Khadepaun

The full schedule for the in-person Indie Meme Film Festival, hosted at Austin Film Society from April 14-17th, 2022. IN-PERSON SCHEDULE Schedule for the IN-Person 7th Annual Indie Meme Film Festival, April 14th -17th, 2022 at Austin Film Society Cinema, 6259 Middle Fiskville Rd, Austin, TX 78752 THURSDAY April 14th, 2022 IM Member Mixer + Badge Pickup Venue : Vivo Tex-Me x 6406 N Interstate Hwy 35 Ste 2343, Austin, TX 78752 *Note: Vivo is next to AFS Cinema in THE LINC Indie Meme Members and badgeholders, join us for a mixer as we kick-off IMFF2022! Collect your badges and meet other meme-ers. 5:30 - 6:30PM CST Shorts Program 1 It's The End of the World, And I Feel Fine From sisters surviving a post-apocalyptic Bangladesh to a middle schooler altering reality with her magic eyelashes, these bold, visionary shorts follow characters to the ends of their regular world and beyond, into the new ones their shaping. Read more... FEATURING: An Early Spring (dir. Pramati Anand I 38 mins) A village girl befriends a solo female backpacker. Moshari (dir. Nuhash Humayan I 22 mins) In future Bangladesh, sisters face a vampiric threat. A Coup ( dir. Areeba Naveed I 7 mins) A girl comes out to her biased psychiatris t. Dal Bhat ( dir. Nemil Shah I 29 mins) A boy learns a secret about his identity. Baahar (Outside) ( dir. Prakshi Malik I 13 mins) A school admission causes family conflict. Local Middle Schooler ( dir. Sanjna Bharadwaj I 11 mins ) A middle schooler's magic eyelashes are coveted by her friends and the US government . 7:00 PM CST - 9:00 PM TICKETS FRIDAY April 15th, 2022 Red Carpet Event Venue: AFS 6259 Middle Fiskville Rd, Austin, TX 78752 5 - 6PM CST The AFS lobby will host media and attending filmmakers, cast and crew for an exciting fun event on the red carpet. Texas Premiere 6:15PM - 8:45PM CST Last Film Show India I 2021 I 110 mins I Gujarati I dir. Pan Nalin A 9-year-old boy in a remote village begins a lifelong love affair with cinema when he bribes his way into a rundown movie palace and spends the summer watching & learning from the projection booth. Read more... Winner of the Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award (2nd Place) *Filmmaker Pan Nalin in attendance TICKETS Opening Night Party Venue: Symphony Square, Waterloo Greenway 1111 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701 9:15PM - 11PM CST Dinner and cash bar. Let's celebrate IMFF2022's Opening Night as a community! Get your tickets for only $25. TICKETS SATURDAY April 16th, 2022 10:30AM - 12:45PM CST Barah x Barah (12 x 12) India I 2021 I 118 mins I Hindi I dir. Gaurav Madan Following a photographer of the dead in Varanasi, Barah x Barah is poignant look at the life in one of the oldest Indian cities as it undergoes seemingly imperceptible but steady changes. Read more... *Filmmaker Gaurav Madan & Producer Sunny Lahiri in Attendance Austin Premiere TICKETS 1:30PM - 4:00PM CST Rehana Bangladesh I 2021 I Bengali, Bangla I 107 mins I dir. Abdullah Mohammad Saad U.S Premiere TICKETS In this powerfully-acted thriller, an assistant professor at a medical college finds her life thrown into chaos when she witnesses an unexpected incident involving a professor and a female student. Read more... +Short Film , Bambirak (Germany, US I German, Dari I 14 mins I dir. Zamarin Wahdat) When 8-year-old Kati stows away in her father's delivery van, Faruk must juggle his responsibilities as a dad while holding down his first job in a new country *Lead Actor Azmeri Haque Badhon in attendance Bangladesh's Official Oscar Submission 'Grand Jury Prize' + 'Best Actress' at the Asian Pacific Screen Awards 4:45PM - 6:40PM CST Midwives Myanmar I 2021 I 91 mins I Burmese I dir. 'Snow' Hnin Ei Hlaing Southwest Premiere TICKETS Hla is the Buddhist owner of a makeshift medical clinic in Myanmar, while Nyo Nyo, her young apprentice, belongs to the persecuted Rohingya Muslim community. Amidst the civil unrest, the two women support and challenge one another as they work to provide steady healthcare. Read more... Sundance Film Festival '22 - Special Jury Award for Excellent in Verite Filmmaking 7:30PM - 10:00PM CST India I 2021 I 95 mins I Hindi I dir. Rajat Kapoor RK/RKAY A frustrated filmmaker can't get his latest feature to click. Things take a turn for the worse when the lead character runs out of the edit and into real life. Read more... + Short Film, The Miniaturist of Junagadh The ravages of Partition compel an artist to sell his ancestral home, but when the buyer learns of his valuable miniature collection he aims to take that as well, leading to a surprising revelation. *Filmmaker Rajat Kapoor in attendance Austin Premiere TICKETS SUNDAY, APRIL 17th, 2022 10AM - 12PM CST A Night of Knowing Nothing India I 2021 I 96 mins I Hindi, Bengali I dir. Payal Kapadia Texas Premiere TICKETS In this docu-drama hybrid, the love letters of a young film student, L, to her estranged lover are juxtaposed with the drastic changes to campus life and the political landscape in India, which result in student protests and uprising. Read more... O'eil D'or Award for 'Best Documentary' - Cannes Film Festival Shorts Program 2 Locals and Long-Distance 12:30PM - 2:15PM CST A selection of locally made and international shorts that touch on the distances between people - in time, space, and circumstances - and how they are bridged. Read more... FEATURING: Mono No Aware (dir. Koushik Sarkar I 20 mins) On a field trip, a girl reflects on life's changes . The Blind Date (dir. Mihir Dhiraj Upadhyay I 17 mins) A blind couple go on a significant beach date. Hot Chocolate ( dir. Lila Mali I 3 mins) A son reflects on a family tradition after moving out. Testimony of Ana ( dir. Sachin Dheeraj I 24 mins) A woman recounts the abuse of a modern witch hunt. Turning Point ( dir. Rakhesh Raveendran I 15 mins) An immigrant father drinks too much and faces a frightening consequence. TICKETS 2:45 - 4:45 PM CST Finland I 2020 I 82 mins I Finnish, Farsi I dir. Hamy Ramezan Any Day Now Texas Premiere TICKETS An Iranian family in Finland await the decision on their asylum application. While deportation looms, the everyday stuff of life - days at the lake, neighborhood gossip, quiet apartment dance parties - goes on. Read more... + Short Film, CHAI (USA I English, Persian I 8 mins I dir. Arshum Rouhanian) With the grand opening of their chai stand, Iranian siblings, Sanam and Reza are faced withcompetition from their neighbors' hot chocolate stand. 5:15PM - 7:00PM CST Pebbles India I 2021 I 75 mins I Tamil I dir. P.S Vinothraj A young boy follows his alcoholic father on a quest to find his mother, who has run away from his domestic abuse. The two cross the arid landscape by foot and bus, unsure of what they will do when they arrive. Read more... International Film Festival Rotterdam - Tiger Prize for 'Best Film' India's Official Oscar Submission * Filmmaker P.S Vinothraj in attendance Texas Premiere TICKETS 7:30PM - 9:30PM CST Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom Bhutan I 2019 I 109 mins I Dzhongka I dir. Pawo Choyning Dorji Texas Premiere TICKETS Ugyen, a reluctant young teacher, just wants to finish his final year of service and move to Australia to pursue music. But when he's assigned to the world's most remote village school, he must reconsider his path and ties to his homeland. Oscar Nominee '22 - 'Best International Feature' Read more... + Short Film GRASSHOPPERS SLEEP HERE (India I 2021 I Malayalam I 8 mins I dir. Balaram J) When a man comes to cut down the grass in a field, he finds a girl is sleeping there - determined to protect the insects who call it home. Closing Night & Awards Party Venue: Vivo 6406 N Interstate Hwy 35 Ste 2343, Austin, TX 78752 *Note: Vivo is next to AFS Cinema in THE LINC 9:45PM Join us in closing out the festival weekend with a celebration of our filmmakers and community. Keep In Touch Sign up for newsletter

How-to: Virtual Screenings INDIE MEME IS NOW ONLINE! Indie Meme is now hosting our expertly curated cinema on virtual event platform, Filmocracy . This new home allows screenings, Q&As, & events to be accessed from one convenient map. All you need is a TICKET OR BADGE and a FREE Account with FILMOCRACY. Grab a ticket --> Visit our Virtual Village --> 1. GET YOUR TICKET Purchase your desired ticket or Festival Pass on Eventbrite .(TIP: Be sure to use you member email for any applicable discounts!) 2. REGISTER ON FILMOCRACY Using the SAME EMAIL ADDRESS as you did to purchase your ticket, create a free account on Filmocracy.com , our new virtual home. Your ticket(s) will automatically connect! 3. FIND OUR EVENT On Filmocracy, find Indie Meme by clicking EVENTS in the top menu bar, OR by scrolling down to MY EVENTS on your welcome page. Click "Go to Fest Village" and you're in! This is your home base and you'll never have to go anywhere else. If you get lost, the address is: https://festival.filmocracy.com/indiememe/ 4. EXPLORE THE FESTIVAL VILLAGE In our virtual village, you can move between the Q&A LOBBY for Q&As and events, the THEATER, where LIVE screenings will take place., and the ON-DEMAND library, where films can be viewed on your own time. Just click on a building to enter! 5. ARRIVE EARLY & BE AS SOCIAL AS YOU LIKE In the Q&A Lobby, you'll find rooms in which you can chat via text, video, or audio. (like ZOOM, you can switch your camera/mic on or off anytime.) It's an optional but cozy way to get the theatrical experience we've been missing. 6. ENJOY THE FILM! When the screening time arrives, click the THEATER to watch. A pop-up window will appear and the film will load and play. Or, for VOD programs, click the ON-DEMAND LIBRARY and pause/play at your own pace. 7. JOIN THE Q&A If a live event follows the film, you can close the theater window and click the Q&A LOBBY. A few minutes post screening, the hosts will start a presentation. The moderator & filmmaker will discuss the film, and take audience questions via chat or video. See you there! Check out our full table!

Durga and her family depend on the 'Bahurupi' - a dying folk art in rural India - for their survival. When the opportunity to leave her bonded, small-town life comes knocking, Durga prepares to leave. Little Goddess India | 14 MIN. 36 SEC. |Bengali, English Subtitles Virtual Screening Details: "Shorts Showcase" Sunday, Nov 8 2020 | Screening : 7.00pm Register SYNOPSIS Durga and her family depend on the 'Bahurupi' - a dying folk art in rural India - for their survival. When the opportunity to leave her bonded, small-town life comes knocking, Durga prepares to leave. 'The Little Goddess' was shot on location in rural West Bengal with a family of Bahurupis who play themselves. The film blends their life events with fiction to depict the coming of age of a young girl in rural India, where dreams and reality are often in conflict with each other DIRECTOR'S BIO Gauri Adelkar Gauri Adelkar is an Indian writer & director based in Los Angeles. She received her MFA in screenwriting & directing at Columbia University, where she was the 2018 recipient of the Breaking Barriers Award for Female Directors. In 2020, Adelkar was the only participant selected by Film Independent as a Writer/Director Project Involve fellow and was a finalist for Tribeca's THROUGH HER LENS program. Adelkar’s film ‘THE LITTLE GODDESS’ was shortlisted for the 2019 BAFTA student film awards and won the Breaking Boundaries Prize at the Academy Qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival. Her work has screened globally at venues such as the Hamptons International Film Festival, Athens International Video & Film Festival, Dharamshala International Film Festival and New York Women in Film & Television Immigrant Series amongst others. Adelkar recently completed production on her film starring Kalieaswari Srinivasan ('DHEEPAN’, 2015 Cannes Palme d'Or). She is currently writing a feature for Guru Films and co-writing a feature for Pakistani filmmaker Sabiha Sumar. STILL

Your gift membership goes a long way in building our community. Your gift helps support us in bringing independent films from South Asia to our audience. Perks apply. INDIE MEME 2023 GIFT MEMBERSHIPS GIVE THE GIFT OF MEMEBERSHIP! TOGETHER, CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF SOUTH ASIAN CINEMA Indie Meme is a 501(c)3 non-profit cultural arts organization headquartered in Austin, Texas. Our mission is to influence social and cultural awareness and consciousness and encourage and facilitate conversations by showcasing socially relevant independent cinema from South Asia & Iran. Indie Meme produces the Indie Meme Film Festival in Austin, TX, and hosts accessible screenings of carefully curated independent cinema throughout the year - features, documentaries, & short films from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, and Iran. Indie Meme engages, educates, entertains, and brings communities together by providing a culturally enriching experience and a view into parts of the world that may be unfamiliar or inaccessible to US audiences, and stories of culturally and socially relevant issues facing our world today. GIFT MEMBERSHIP LEVELS ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. Contact: Puneet Wadhwa, Membership & Outreach Co-Chair Snigdha Ghoshal, Membership & Outreach Co-Chair Indie Meme Board of Directors

19-year-old Diya is a rising social media star, and clandestine smoker. Her household is a pressure cooker and the whistle is about to blow. Set during the COVID-19 lockdown, this is a story about the cracks within our families and the bonds which bridge them. The film marks the acting debut of Renee Sen, daughter Back to Festival Program U.S Premiere Suttabaazi India I 14 mins I Drama I 2020 I Hindi w/ English subtitles 19-year-old Diya is a rising social media star, and clandestine smoker. Her household is a pressure cooker and the whistle is about to blow. Set during the COVID-19 lockdown, this is a story about the cracks within our families and the bonds which bridge them. The film marks the acting debut of Renee Sen, daughter of celebrated actress, Sushmita Sen, who is known for her roles in Main Hoon Na, Filhaal..., and Aankhen. + Screens with SHORTS PROGRAM I: IN LOCKDOWN GET YOUR FESTIVAL BADGE VIRTUAL SCREENING : SAT. APRIL 17 - 12PM (Noon) CT About the Artist Kabeer Khurana is a 9-time international award-winning filmmaker and the co-founder of India's youngest publishing venture, Bombaykala Books. Apart from winning awards in Italy, USA and Ukraine, his films have received 40+ festival selections internationally, including the Global University Film Awards (known as the Student Oscars, in Hong Kong), and have been screened at festivals in Brazil, Prague, Singapore, Indonesia, Morocco, Croatia, etc. His film, DALI, won the Audience Choice Award at the Flatlands Dance Film Festival our of 650 selections. His recent short romance, HANGOUT (2020) was released on Disney+ Hotstar. He's also the founder of several youth-based social organizations, including Navrang (Ashoka University's film society) and The Mumbai Art Collective, for which he was featured on the cover story of India Today. Trailer Thank you to our community partner(s) for this screening: the Austin Film Society, and the Austin Film Commission! Credits Crew Writer/Director: KABEER KHURANA Creative Producer: ROHAN PARIKH Producer(s): GURMEET SINGH GULATI SIMRAN LAKHANPAL RAMNEEK SAWHNEY PANKAJ RUNGTA Story: KANISHK DEVGAN Concept: SAMEER HADKER Editing: PRIYANKA ARORA Sound Design: SARIT CHATTERJEE Cast: RENEE SEN as 'Diyar' KOMAL CHHABRIA as 'Mother' RAHUL VOHRA as 'Father' Additional Crew: Art Director: SAMEER HADKER Production Manager: VATSAL JAIN Costume Designer: SAKINA HAFIJI Colorist: VIVEK NAIR Make-up: SAKINA BAGASRAWALA

Year Round Screenings South Asian & Iranian Cinema for all seasons Indie Meme's programming goes far beyond our flagship festival, which returns each spring. Throughout the year, we bring acclaimed, anticipated titles to Texas screens - creating opportunities for audiences & artists to meet & connect over thought-provoking independent cinema. Indie Meme also partners with other local organizations & festivals to co-present screenings and spread awareness to our community. Recent highlights of the year-round program include Dilli Dark, Queen of My Dreams, Joyland (presented by AGLIFF) , Children of the Sun, Men in Blue, & 7 Days. Coming Soon Now Playing AFS Cinemas All We Imagine As Light “As the first Indian feature invited to compete at Cannes in nearly three decades, Payal Kapadia’s narrative début would be notable enough; that the movie is so delicately felt and sensuously textured is cause for outright celebration.” —Justin Chang, The New Yorker “It is both dreamlike and like waking up from a dream. This is a glorious film.” —Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian The light, the lives, and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated by writer/director Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for her revelatory fiction feature debut. Centering on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital — head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha) — plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), Kapadia’s film alights on moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment. Read More

The schedule for the 2021 Virtual Indie Meme Film Festival (IMFF 2021), taking place on the weekends of April 16-18th and 23rd-25th. IMFF 2021 SCHEDULE To download a printable PDF of the schedule click here

When a mowing man comes to cut down the grass in a field, he finds a girl is sleeping there - determined to protect the insects who call it home. U.S Premiere $15 tickets ( $12 for members) Sun. Dec 11th, 2022 @ 4PM Venue: Austin Film Society 6259 Middle Fiskville Rd, Austin, TX 1/5 Children of the Sun (Gaadi) Sri Lanka/India I 103 mins I Drama I 2019 I Sinhalese w/ English subtitles BECOME A MEMBER Winner of the UNESCO Cultural Diversity Prize - Asia Pacific Screen Awards Set in 19th century Sri Lanka, this historical epic follows a noble woman, Tikiri, stripped of her place in society and forcibly married to an outcast. As she struggles to maintain her dignity, Tikiri finds her sense of identity challenged and expanded. Meanwhile, the dangers of British occupation and civil conflict loom large, threatening the futures of all. *Screening is followed by a LIVE virtual Q&A with acclaimed director, Prasanna Vithanage. *Q&A is followed by Member Appreciation Party, FREE to all current Members at all levels . Location of Mixer TBA. TICKETS About the Artist Prasanna Vithanage is a Sri Lankan filmmaker, considered one of the pioneers of the third generation of the Sri Lankan cinema. He has directed numerous feature films including Death on a Full Moon Day (1997), August Sun (2003), Flowers of the Sky (2008) & With You, Without You (2012) and won many prestigious national and international awards. In his early theatre work, he translated and produced plays by international writers and adapted works of world literature to film. He has battled against the censorship in Sri Lanka and worked as an educator of cinema conducting master classes in the subcontinent for young filmmakers and enthusiasts. Trailer

Sparks will fly! Powerless is a documentary film about the electrical supply in an Indian city. Top of Page Tickets Top of Page Tickets Katiabaaz 82 mins/2013/Hindi/English/Urdu/with English subtitles/INDIA SYNOPSIS Sparks will fly! : Powerless is a documentary film about the electrical supply in an Indian city, the story unfurling along the tangled wires and tracing out lines of conflict of a diabolical complexity, that unfolds in several towns and cities across the country. Loha, a 28-year-old electrician lives in Kanpur, a city of 3 million, which suffers from power cuts that last up to 15 hours. Renowned for his prowess in stealing electricity, he is a robin-hood figure who steals electricity and charges the rich to provide free connections in impoverished neighbourhoods. In the face of day-long power-cuts, he runs illegal connections from one neighborhood to another so that homes, factories and businesses can function normally. On the other hand, Ritu, the first female chief and new to the Kanpur Electricity Supply Company (KESCO), is working on a mission to eliminate powerlessness. Electricity-theft accounts for nearly 30 percent of all losses to KESCO, aggravating the crisis, and Ritu has constituted a new task force to tackle this miscreancy. KESCO organizes an annual cleanup of all illegal electricity connections. Officials together with police forces try and disconnect all the illegal connections that Loha and other electricians like him, set up. Ritu’s efforts to clean up the city and reach out to consumers to chalk a new path forward for Kanpur meets with success. However, with the Indian summer settling in the electricity problem takes on crisis proportions, with dire implications on the citizen’s lives and livelihoods. People take to the streets in demonstrations and sometimes resort to violence. A rising politician takes advantage of the people’s anger. A picture emerges of a modern dystopia encompassing urban decay and desperation in the lack of electricity. Underlying the localized crisis in Kanpur is the glaring energy poverty in India, where a third of the population is bereft of this basic need, and the rest grapple with power-cuts that dictate their own terms. Powerless puts a lens to an unexplored narrative of one of the world’s fastest developing economies. Directors’ Statement Sunday, April 12th at 3pm 14 Pews Art House 800 Aurora Street Houston, TX 77009 Follow event on Facebook Interested in screening this in your hometown? Write to us TICKETS NOT AVAILABLE Tickets TRAILER Fahad and Deepti in conversation with Tripti Bhatnagar DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT Fahad Mustafa (Director/Producer): Born in Kanpur, Fahad has since lived in Dammam, New Delhi, Vienna and Edmonton. He was an Erasmus Mundus Global Studies scholar. His previous film, as director, was FC Chechnya (Austria, 2010) “I was born in Chamanganj, Kanpur. My parents left the neighbourhood to seek a future elsewhere. I have therefore had the privilege of living, studying and working in other parts of the world. My memories of Kanpur are predominantly of long, uncomfortable, water-less summers, spent without electricity. As a child I remember relatives facing unemployment due to the closure of the nationalized mills in Kanpur. I remember how in the following years, the power situation worsened. Livelihoods were at stake, and there were always stories about relatives and friends of the family, losing their incomes and businesses. In many ways Loha Singh is a reflection of the city’s past. The only livelihood that he has available to him is stealing electricity, a highly dangerous, life threatening task. Yet he does it with a panache and grit that is very Kanpuria. Upon returning to Kanpur many years later I found that the situation remains largely unchanged. A city and its people look back with bitter nostalgia and a sense of loss towards its glorious past and uncertain future. This is a story not only about electricity, but a political reality that millions in India and billions worldwide live with” . DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT Deepti Kakkar (Director/Producer): Born in Delhi, Deepti has been engaged in issues of social development sustainable livelihood for the last 10 years. She has previously directed a film on microfinance in India, and worked on story-development and as production manager on FC Chechnya. Deepti lives in Ghaziabad, India. “In many ways the story that compelled Fahad to film in Kanpur, is a story of most small towns in the country. Having lived all my life in another industrial town – Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, I am no stranger to day-long power cuts and to how they govern peoples’ lives. Ritu’s reformist instinct and struggle to bring change to the city is pitted against Loha’s wit and ingenuity; the one a thief, the other a cop. ∂However, ultimately they’re both fighting for a common cause – to light up lives. In many ways Kanpur is at a frontline of globalization, and is a microcosm that showcases the infrastructure problems that India faces today. Kanpur is as much as a character in this film as it’s main protagonists.” Energy is taken for granted in developed nations, however many in India spend entire lifetimes without switching on an electric device. The energy crisis in India also finds resonance in global issues such as climate change and corporate social responsibility. While there are villages in India that have no electricity whatsoever, in Kanpur one can distinctly visualize how the lack of energy leads people to a cycle of poverty.

With 11 different parts directed by 11 different directors, X: Past is Present represents the next level of the average anthology film. X : Past is Present 2015/ India/ 106 minutes/ Hindi, English, Tamil & Bengali with English subtitles Interested in screening this in your hometown? Write to us With 11 different parts directed by 11 different directors, X: Past is Present represents the next level of the average anthology film -- with all of its stories woven together to make one overarching narrative. SYNOPSIS A filmmaker with a mid life crisis meets a mysterious young girl who reminds him of his first girlfriend at first, and subsequently, of every woman in his life. Who is she? Is she real or imaginary? A stalker or a ghost? His past catching up or a character from the script he is writing? A bold and original take on man-woman relationships, X: Past Is Present is a one-of-its-kind feature where 11 Indian filmmakers with strikingly different cinematic styles have come together to make different parts of the same film. One story told through the eyes of 11 unique storytellers. COMMUNITY PARTNER Tickets TICKETS NOT AVAILABLE TRAILER MEET THE FILM MAKERS Abhinav Shiv Tiwari Anu Menon Hemant Gaba Nalan Kumarasamy Prat im D Gupta Qaushiq Mukherjee aka Q Raja Sen Rajshree Ojha Sandeep Mohan Sudhish Kamath Suparn Verma MEET THE WRITERS Abhinav Shiv Tiwari Anu Menon Hemant Gaba Prat im D Gupta Q Raja Sen Rajshree Ojha Sandeep Mohan Sudhish Kamath Suparn Verma Thiagar ajan Kumarar aja